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Day 36 ^� early morning


	When the call to arms came telepathically, `Tonio was in the 
air almost immediately.  In his mind, he didn't have a choice.  He 
held two positions, one as a Knight of Passion and the other as a 
dragonrider.  Each one had to be pursued with an equal amount of 
zeal.  One could not be favored over the other.

	<DeMarco, do you have the location of where the wraiths are 
attacking? >

	**Yes!!!!** came the fervent reply.

	<You appear to be disturbed, DeMarco. >

	**A mating took place near there and I missed it!  I feel 
shamed. **

	The Knight chuckled at his dragon's statement, <Missing a 
mating is nothing to be ashamed of DeMarco.  There will always be 
plenty of matings for you to be at.  Shall we tend to more important 
matters? >

	DeMarco snorted derisively before he blinked into the 
coldness of nothing, reappearing over the skies of Windtide, joining 
in the quickly building chaos of battle.  Different colored dragons 
from Whiteriver began appearing at random spots, adding to the 
confusion.  Fortunately for them, the wraiths were also disorganized 
as well.

	`Tonio kept his eyes open, tracking the movements of the new 
riders that he could spot.  From his own training, he knew that there 
was no substitute for experience when it came to the heat of battle.  
The shadow creatures were out of sorts, but they were flying thick as 
fog.  He hadn't seen such a congestion of the cursed beasts ever, but 
his tenure as a rider wasn't too long.  A pair of wraiths swerved to 
attack the crimson dragon and his rider, only to be met by DeMarco's 
searing breath, reducing the threat to ashes.  

	He spied Tarv'renon and the brown, Murkash, both of whom 
appeared to be lost in thought.  `Tonio urged DeMarco downwards, 
swooping down to aid his fellow rider, who was surrounded by the evil 
creatures.  One of them landed a blow that looked to have severely 
wounded Tarv'renon.  His suspicions were confirmed as Murkash 
accelerated upward, breezing past DeMarco, and blinking out of 
sight.  DeMarco blasted the group pursuing the brown and `Tonio 
coughed as they flew through the airborne cinders.

	N'lin and his dragon took up position by `Tonio and waves.

	**N'lin is looking for some help in bailing out a couple of 
the trainees**

	<Let him lead the way. >

	The two dragons banked left, flying right into a massive zone 
of wraiths.  Two dragons were frantically flying about, taking wild 
shots with their breath weapon.  A stray blast of flame passed 
perilously close to DeMarco's wing.  Peering closer, he recognized 
the dragonriders Mara and Cybele.  N'lin looked over and indicated he 
would take Cybele on the right, leaving him with Mara on the left.  
The two veered off towards their respective targets.  <DeMarco, how's 
our trainee in distress?>

	**She's a bit panicked at the moment.  Her fire is almost 
used up and she's taken a couple minor injuries.  I think all the 
wild flying has saved her from the worst.**

	DeMarco, let loose another torrent of flame, disintegrating 
an offensive wraith, **Of course, if we don't get out of this soon, 
we may as well be flying like her.**

	The crimson dragon rolled sideways, narrowly avoiding the 
searing attack of a wraith as it swooped by.  Rolling level, `Tonio 
nodded <Agreed.  Get word to Mara that we're going to clear a path 
for her and that she needs to teleport back to the warren to reload. >

	**Done.**

	`Tonio skillfully manuevered the red in front of the purple.  
Banking right, Demarco, cut loose a swath of infernal death, clearing 
a path for Mara.  In the next instant she cleared into the blue sky, 
the dragon winked out.  `Tonio felt a tingling and he swiveled 
around, seeing a trio of wraiths bear down on `Tonio's flank.  It was 
too late to maneuver, <Brace yourself, we're about to be hit.>

	He felt the dragon tense up, preparing for the searing pain.  
A whoosh of superheated air, passed over his head, followed by the 
gray and black ash of an incinerated wraith.  Looking back, he saw 
the camouflaged form of Trefoil, a grinning N'lin aboard.  `Tonio 
waved back his thanks and swerved back into the fray.

[..]

Day 36 ^� late afternoon

	The battle had gone on for hours, the dragons being forced to 
fly in shifts.  One group would fly in while the other would reload 
for another flight.  Little by little the wraiths were whittled down 
until they were finally eliminated.  The people of Windtide seemed to 
be grateful, but they was all they showed to the dragonriders.

	`Tonio dismounted from DeMarco, his body streaked from head 
to toe with ash, a few minor abrasions and burns having put holes in 
his clothes.  DeMarco had also suffered a few minor wounds, but was 
in good shape.  He went into the dining hall, where he ordered a 
meal.  Sitting down, he brushed off what he could off of his 
clothes.  A couple other people trudged in a moved towards him^�.

<Tag, anyone?>

Submitted by
`Tonio and DeMarco
AKA Chris Weeda


NRPG:  Okay, I figured the battle would take that long, given the 
enormous amounts of wraiths.  Now, on with the story!



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